On the very high of the wine lovers record is the US, who makes up about 13% of the world’s shoppers. Just under them are France at 11% and Italy at greater than eight%.

Ice wine is a scrumptious drink that has develop into a favourite drink to wine lovers all around the world.

1- The place Does Ice Wine Come From?

The historical past of Ice Wine may be traced again to 2 accounts. The primary account tells of the primary ice wine – or Eiswein – being made within the late 1700s.

The second documented account – claims the primary Eiswein was made in 1829/1830. A reality shared by each these accounts is that Eiswein got here from Germany.

Germany continues to make Eiswein (together with from the Mosel area, see frozen winery panorama beneath), as does Austria, however their winters should not all the time chilly sufficient to freeze the grapes enough to make the most effective ice wine.

Within the 1970s ice wine was produced in Ontario, Canada for the primary time. Now Ontario has develop into the main ice wine producer.

These aren’t the one nations with a historical past linked to the primary Ice wines. Italy additionally had its personal half to play. Some writings date again to the primary century A.D that talk of grapes that had been harvested after the primary frost.

These writings by Roman poet Marcus Valerius Martialis and Pliny, the Elder show that ice wine was made in Italy as effectively all these years in the past.

2- How Is Ice Wine Produced and Why is Ice Wine Candy?

Icewine is an distinctive wine produced from grapes which might be harvested late in fall or wineter, and which have been left to freeze on thevines (they’re typically botrytized, see picture beneath for a way of what they seem like).

The artwork of creating ice wine lies in the truth that the grapes have to be harvested and processed whereas frozen.

The frozen grapes are taken to the vineyard the place they’re put right into a grape press the place concentrated syrup is pressed from these frozen marbles.

Picture Supply: Palate Hill Property Vineyard

Some wineries substitute this pure means of selecting frozen grapes within the winery in winter, by artificially freezing grapes in freezers after harvest. This enables to supply Ice Wine at a lesser value, whereas preserving the essence and purity of what makes ice wine.

As a result of the grapes are frozen, when they’re pressed, solely the sweetest juices which have a decrease freezing temperature come out of the press. This course of subsequently permits to acquire a number of the most flavorsome, concentrated and candy juices on the planet of wine. Fermentation of icewine can be relatively sluggish — taking Three to six months—, and is usually carried out at comparatively low temperature to protect the freshness of the grapes’ fruit character for ice wine.

Three- Pink Ice Wine Vs White Ice Wine

Icewine from purple grapes will normally be pink or mild burgundy. Pink wines are typically sweeter and have the tastes of dried figs, sweet, and berries. Cabernet Franc and Merlot grapes yield the a number of the greatest purple ice wines, that are additionally produced from Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Malbec.

Ice wine produced from white grapes will sometimes produce wine in pale yellow or mild gold. These colours can darken to deep gold over time, nevertheless. White wine is claimed to be extra full-bodied than purple wine, with tastes of citrus and peach. Riesling grapes make high Eiswein in Germany, whereas Vidal is the most well-liked white grape for Canadian Icewine. Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Gris, or Sauvignon Blanc are additionally used.

Four- What’s Vidal Ice Wine?

Vidal is a hybrid grape selection notably tailored for being grown in very cool climates and standard in Canada and the northeastern United States. It’s a crossing of Trebbiano (Ugni Blanc) and Seibel 4986 (Rayon d’Or).

Having a thick pores and skin which acts as a safety, it’s appropriate for harvesting late within the season, together with when the grapes are frozen for making icewine. Vidal is probably the most grown grape for Icewine in Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula space, however it’s also generally discovered within the Finger Lakes AVA of New York State.

Most Vidal Ice wines are unoaked, however some could also be aged in oak barrels, including nutty and toasty characters.

5- Serving and Pairing Ice Wine with Meals

Earlier than serving, ice wine must be chilled. It’s in spite of everything a dessert wine and must be served with dessert.

As a result of ice wine has fruity flavors like lychee and pineapple, you possibly can take pleasure in consuming it with white chocolate mousse, fruit pannacotta, ice cream (coconut ice cream works effectively) and cheesecake.

For a extra savory-inclined palette, comfortable cheese goes very effectively with ice wine.

6- How a lot is a bottle of ice wine?

As a result of grapes are unnoticed on the vines for a very long time by means of fall and into winter, they comprise little or no juice. Add the truth that grapes are frozen when pressed, and you’ll perceive that the amount or yield of ice wine produced on any winery may be very low, making ice wine costly to make and costly to purchase.

Picture Supply: silkes-weinkeller.de

That mentioned, ice wine is usually bought in small bottle, quarter-bottle (187ml) or half-bottles (375ml) so you will discover small-sized flasks beginning round $ 20. The best examples although, typically aged in oak barrels, can simply command costs round $ 80-$ 100 for a half-bottle.

7- Upshots

It doesn’t matter whether or not you like the candy notes of purple wine or the fruitier style of white wine. Wine lovers in every single place will agree that ice wine is an excellent addition to any dessert desk, maybe even because the dessert itself!

Wine lovers take pleasure in sharing their ardour the world over, and there are numerous locations to learn, recommendation, talk about the variations between wine grape varieties and study the most recent information about this candy elixir. So in case you are new and simply studying to take pleasure in wine there are a great deal of data on the market that can assist you discover that good style for your self.

Lastly, if individuals spent extra time having fun with ice wine and scrumptious desserts and fewer time considering violence, the world could be a greater, merrier place.

This Visitor Put up was Written by Sara O Brown Completely for Social Vignerons.

About Our Visitor – Writer Bio/Credentials

Sara O Brown is a working mother, lives together with her dentist husband and her lovely canine, Casper. She is obsessed with touring and cooking. She has been a daily contributor for findrarewhisky.com

What do you buy a wine lover? Wine, maybe? Egads no! That’s too stressful–like buying art for an art collector. So instead, leave tasting to the tasters and focus on all the wonderful items that wine enthusiasts truly need, want, and lust after.

Unique Wine Gifts for Wine Lovers

Some of the wine gifts are quite new and others are tried-and-true. Please enjoy the Wine Folly Wine Gift Guide for 2017 and we hope it helps you create the perfect gift for the wine lover in your life.

Wine Gifts Under $ 40

A really good sommelier friend of ours ran up a sizable credit card bill after discovering Natural Whine on Instagram. Yes, we are wholly disappointed in her money management skills, but no, we can’t help but gawk in awe every time she wears her Cru Beaujolais sweatshirt.

Even wine hipsters need to wear clothes.

For those who still love the feeling of writing, Moleskin came out with a pretty handy journal designed especially for wine tasting notes.

Hands down, this is the best Champagne stopper we’ve ever come across. The patented WAF design is easy to operate and won’t pop off like those double clasp-styles often do. It’s one of those kitchen drawer tools that no wine lover should be without.

You might laugh, but this little wine opener works wonders on older bottles with natural cork. Plus, it feels amazing to use. Anyone with a wine collection will appreciate this little German-made opener.

For $ 11, it’s really hard to beat the quality of the Hicoup corkscrew. While it’s no Code 38, it still looks great, feels great, and if you’re building a multi-item gift for someone, it makes a great addition.

Thinking of stocking stuffers? Crystal wine glasses are kind of like fancy cars. You can drive them into the ground but if you baby them, they’ll last a lifetime and become a classic. A lint-free polishing cloth will make them shine like they are always new.

We buy tea towels by the sack-full for polishing glassware but really wish we had one as cool as these.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a $ 5 or a $ 5,000 bottle of wine. If it’s red, it will stain. This stocking stuffer is one of those household items that wine lovers cannot live without. We’ve used both Wine Away and Chateau Spill, and both are great, but the former is the best we’ve found thus far.

Now you can carry your wine anywhere you can carry a water bottle. Swell makes a 25 oz. bottle, which is exactly the right size to pack the entire contents of a wine bottle (okay, not exactly–you’ll have to drink the remaining 0.36 ounces).

A profound thought: serious wine enthusiasts are captivated with history and human-made things. And, wine enthusiasts have been obsessed with wine for a long, long time. As a result, there are a great many amazing antiquities in the wine sphere. A quick trip to ebay revealed some great choices, all for under $ 40.

Want to know how to drink better wine? Simple. Learn how to taste all the flavors. This is a great item for an enthusiast because the backside of the paper chart also includes aroma compounds associated with different flavors in wine. Designed, printed, and shipped to you directly from Wine Folly in Seattle, WA.

Aeration is a necessary thing for red wine. It greatly improves the taste. Plus, the practice of emptying a bottle into a decanter is strangely therapeutic.

There are a multitude of decanters to choose from. Our favorite one is still the restaurant standard issue Riedel Merlot decanter. Don’t worry, you can use it on any variety.

Learn to write great tasting notes using wine tasting placemats that are designed to guide you through a tasting from start to finish. This is probably the most interactive gift of the bunch. Designed, printed, and shipped to you directly from Wine Folly in Seattle, WA.

On the hunt for quality? A map of your favorite wine region will quickly point you in the right direction. Designed, printed, and shipped to you directly from Wine Folly in Seattle, WA.

If you love wine, there’s a pretty good chance you’re fond of cheese as well. Why not put them together? Designed, printed, and shipped to you directly from Wine Folly in Seattle, WA.

Get inspired to try new wines based on the styles you most enjoy. Designed, printed, and shipped to you directly from Wine Folly in Seattle, WA.

It’s very difficult to find an excellent set of wine glasses for under $ 40. That said, they do exist! The Style Series are Austrian, lead-free crystal by the brand Spiegelau (part of the Riedel wine brand). This set offers 4 Bordeaux glasses for just under $ 40.

While we’re talking wine glasses, there is another brand worth investigating that manages to produce fine crystal for a great value. Schott Zwiesel is a German glassmaker that makes a great, affordable line called Tritan, using lead-free crystal (using a titanium and zirconium oxide blend). Yes, the glass set is slightly over $ 40, but you get a set of 8!

If you live on the move, or are a destroyer of fragile things, a decanter is a terrible idea. What you need is a wine aerator. This little gurgling device quickly improves the flavor of wine after a single pour (a decanter takes at least 30 minutes!). Ever since the Vinturi came out with the wine aerator, many copycats have created similar looking devices, but we still like this one the best.

If you’re someone who works in the business as a sommelier or wine retailer, you know how annoying it is to shuffle bottles around from here to there. All day long. This handy carrier is built with the industrious wine enthusiast in mind. We’ve used one for about a year and love, love, love it.

Educational Wine Books

On the hunt for mental strengthening? How about a book? Well, for someone getting into wine there are a few books out there that have proven themselves to be the best of the best.

Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine

A visual handbook to the world’s more important wines and wine regions. Plus, it includes lots of information on tasting, serving and storing wine. It’s one of those toolkit books that’s a joy to use. And yes, we’re completely biased, so definitely read the reviews.

Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine $ 20

The Wine Bible

Karen MacNeil’s new edition of Wine Bible is the perfect partner to a guidebook like Wine Folly. Why? The Wine Bible has the details. The history is important because it gives meaning to the wines of the world. Therefore, we absolutely love this book.

Windows on the World Complete Wine Course

This book is the core curriculum to Kevin Zraly’s famous wine beginner course. It’s an amazing book that can literally taste you through the wine world. All you need are a few bottles of wine and an open mind. That’s the best way to learn wine.

Wine Isn’t Rocket Science

Wine Isn’t Rocket Science was written by an awesome French writer who works with an illustrator. The book is packed with lovely French laissez-faire drawings and useful information. The book has a distinctly European focus so it would make a great choice for a Francophile.

24-Hour Wine Expert

The British wine expert, Jancis Robinson, is much more famous for her academic-level books like The Oxford Companion to Wine Companion and Wine Grapes. So it was a delight to see her launch a microbook, The 24-Hour Wine Expert, that’s loaded with wine common sense.

Wine Magazines

Staying in the know is a constant game for wine lovers. One of the most physically satisfying ways to feel wine smart is to subscribe to a wine mag. Yes, your wine-loving friends should definitely subscribe to Wine Folly’s e-newsletter (no-brainer), but printed things feel awesome too. Here are four of our favorite wine mags this year:

Wine Enthusiast

A great, all around everyday wine magazine that covers the real questions we have about wine.

Wine & Spirits

This one has the appeal of being able to peek behind the scenes of the wine business, but without all the annoying business jargon.

Noble Rot

Totally irreverent. One third is fascinating, one third is beautiful, and the last third will make you mad. But then again, that’s what irreverent means.

World of Fine Wine

The equivalent of an art magazine but for wine. It will make you drool at things you cannot afford.

Wine Gifts Over $ 40

Peter Liem has been slowly and fastidiously changing expert’s minds about 2 beverages: Sherry and Champagne. At first look, his latest book is something you could proudly place on a coffee table. Let me assure you, this book is much more than a pretty cover. Champagne: The Essential Guide to the Wines, Producers, and Terroirs of the Iconic Region is a noteworthy deep-dive into the region and its wine. Make your bubbly fan happy, buy them this book!

This is still one of our favorite wine glasses that’s easy to find. (Our other top favorite is Zwiesel’s Select Riesling Grand Cru… if you can find it!) This glass is a wee bit terrifying to use because the stem is so thin you think it will break. Surprisingly, the crystal blend Zalto uses results in a very durable glass. Not recommended for people with big hands.

If looking at this image doesn’t make your eyeballs pop out of our head you’re clearly not a sparkling wine snob. Get this for someone who is; it will give them googly eyes. Promise.

A sword you can actually use if you know how to saber a bottle of sparkling wine. The Fox Sciabola del Sommelier is one of those tools you might never buy for yourself but you wish you had. Handmade in Italy.

You love your corks so where do you put them? This wine barrel-shaped cork collector can store over 2,000 corks. That’s a lot. For comparison’s sake, if you drink a glass of wine a night for your entire adult life, it only equates to a little over 4,000 bottles of wine! Challenge accepted.

We’ve been using the Coravin now since 2015 and have to say that this wine preservation system has created a whole new way of drinking for us. Suddenly you can decide to taste some of the good wines you have without committing to the whole bottle. The Model One may look like a medical device (it was, in fact, designed by a medical device inventor!), but it’s an awesome tool for anyone who wishes to savor serious wines.

The obsessive handmade knife-like wine opener. The new “Magnum” model truly considers people with bigger hands and is a joy to use.

Tactical grade wine opener. This is the darling and the envy of sommeliers everywhere. Not indestructible, but the parts are interchangeable, so this opener can hang with the busiest wine pros in the biz.

How do we come up with the Wine Folly gift list? We source as many cool products over a year and then put our favorites on the list. A company cannot pay to have an item featured here, although we welcome companies to let us about their amazing new products. We do feature Wine Folly products, which are labeled. We also use affiliate sale through amazon when possible. Please help support free content by using these links if you like a product. Thanks for looking!

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By Madeline PucketteI’m a certified sommelier and creator of the NYT Bestseller, Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine. Find me out there in the wine world @WineFolly

Vodka is like the actor that never steals the spotlight, but always makes the other actors shine. Because of its almost non-existent taste, vodka goes perfectly with almost any ingredient that you can imagine. If you’re looking to create a sweet, sour, or spicy cocktail, vodka can fill the bill and be the perfect matching spirit.

Although there are plenty of cocktails that have vodka as a main ingredient — such as the Screwdriver, which calls for orange juice and vodka — some of the more interesting cocktail recipes containing vodka are the ones that will really make your party memorable. Most people have had vodka before to some extent, and are not adverse to trying something new with it as the main ingredient.

One recipe worth trying out is a cocktail known as a Minty Chocolate Vodka. First, mix 22 mls each of vodka, white cream of chocolate, and green cream of mint. Shake the combination well, strain, and pour the liquid into a single shot glass that has already been chilled. The Minty Chocolate Vodka is a cocktail that will have your guests coming back for more.

Everyone’s heard of a Bloody Mary, so why not try this unique variation at your next cocktail party? It’s called the Fresh N’ Fruity Bloody Mary. First, use a muddler to crush six to eight fresh raspberries in a cocktail shaker. Add 88 mls of vodka with orange zest, 66 mls of fresh orange juice, 55 mls of cranberry juice, and 22 mls each of raspberry-flavored liqueur and fresh lime juice, then shake. Add in three or four ice cubes and pour into a tall cocktail glass. Garnish your Fresh N’ Fruity Bloody Mary cocktail with a fresh raspberry.

The Melon Coconut Sensation is the perfect drink to serve when you’re relaxing by the pool, sunning at the beach, or just hanging out with a couple of friends. This tropical drink is made by adding 88 mls of vodka to 132 mls of fresh pineapple juice. Then add 22 mls each of melon-flavored liqueur and coconut rum liqueur. Serve it in a tall Collin’s glass and garnish the cocktail with a wedge of fresh lime. Your guests are sure to love this drink!

Try this next cocktail recipe on a beautiful autumn day. It’s called the Sweet Apple Vodka. First, press about 4 fresh ginger slices on the bottom of a cocktail shaker with a muddler or a pestle. Then add 176 mls of fresh apple juice, 66 mls of bison vodka, and 22 mls each of sugar syrup and apple schnapps liqueur. Strain the liquid and pour it into a Collin’s glass over crushed ice. Finish off the cocktail by grating nutmeg over the surface and garnishing it with a slice of fresh apple.

It’s possible to come up with a completely original cocktail recipe that contains vodka all on your own. Learn as much as you can about popular ingredients for cocktails such as flavored alcoholic spirits and flavored syrups in order to experiment with combinations that will be all your own.